The Family Album
by 10Blue10
Summary: A follow up to Goodbye, as suggested by Princess Pinky. Warning: this might be slightly confusing.


Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

This is a continuation of 'Goodbye', and is a series of flashbacks and dialogue explaining Rory and Amy's life in New York after becoming separated. It varies between 3rd and 1st person view, as well as tenses. It might be a bit confusing.

The Family Album

_Name: Anthony Brian Williams _

_Date of Birth: 1946, specific day and month unknown _

_Orphanage: Everett House _

_Date of Adoption: 2__nd__ September 1946 _

_Name of birth father: unknown _

_Name of birth mother: unknown_

_Name of adoptive father: Rory Arthur Williams_

_Name of adoptive mother: Amelia Jessica Williams _

_This document certifies that Rory and Amelia Williams are the legal guardians of the above named Anthony Brian Williams. _

Brian traced his finger over the print of Rory's name, thinking back to the day his wife had brought his son back from the hospital, and they'd tried to think of a name for him. Brian remembered suggesting everything from Geoffrey to Noah. In the end, the name Rory had been the most sensible name either of them could come up with. An average name for an average child; Brian could now see, if not appreciate, the irony.

Besides him, Tabetha Pond sniffed and sipped at her coffee. "I really don't understand why Amy didn't tell me she couldn't have children. I would have supported her" she complained.

"Maybe she thought you wouldn't believe her, you never believed her about her raggedy Doctor after all" her husband pointed out.

Tabetha huffed. "Yes, but he turned out to be real enough, even if he was completely mad. Oh, god, Augustus, our little girl's gone. She grew old before we did and she never knew how much we loved her. How is any of this right?" she asked despairingly. Anthony offered his grandmother a box of tissues.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Pond" he said, "I wish there was more I could do. My parents wanted me to show you this album; they hoped it would ease your loss". Tabetha blew her nose and waved away his concern. "It's okay. I don't blame you, Anthony dear, and please call me Tabetha" she assured him.

Brian reached over and turned the page of the worn binder lying on the coffee table, in Anthony's flat. The next page had a piece of paper stuck to it.

_Flashback (Amy's POV) _

Tears sting at my eyes, because I don't want to leave the Doctor, but I _have _to be with Rory. "Raggedy man…goodbye!" I cry, spinning around. I catch a glimpse of his horrified, heartbroken face before it feels like I'm plummeting again. Just like before, when we jumped off Winter Quay. _I'm coming, stupid face _I think.

I'm still in the graveyard, but the TARDIS is gone. My raggedy man is gone. My daughter is gone. The Angel is gone. I am all alone. "Rory?!" I scream. "Rory! Where are you?!"

Where could he be? He will be near the graveyard, I'm sure of it. He doesn't know that the Doctor can't save us, so he will have gone to a bench or something to wait for us. I hear a cracking noise behind me and spin around. The Angel s back, its hand outstretched, but it isn't trying to attack me. There's a piece of paper pinned between its stone thumb and forefinger.

I reach out to tug the piece of paper free, and unfold it, all without taking my eyes off the Angel. I know I'll have to look away to see what is on the paper. I pray it isn't blank; I don't want the last thing I ever see to be a blank sheet of paper.

I glance down quickly, and in that split second the Angel disappears. I'm still in the same place, so I guess it's properly gone this time. I stare at the note again. Scrawled across the paper are the words '_Five Years' _and an arrow pointing to the right.

_What is that supposed to mean? _I wonder, but then I realise. The Angel is telling me that Rory and I are five years apart in time. As for the arrow, I figure out that it isn't pointing to the right, but forwards, into the future. Rory will be sent back to five years from now.

When I work this out, I sit down on the grass and cry. I thought I was done with waiting. _Oh, get a grip on yourself _I say to myself crossly, wiping my eyes. _Rory waited two thousand years for you. The least you can do is wait five measly years for him. _

I don't have anywhere to stay whilst I wait. I have some dollars, but I don't know how much they're worth in this time period, or even if they're worth anything at all. On a whim I turn the piece of paper over, and found _1934 Hooverville _written on the back.

"Thanks a lot" I mutter. I'm stuck in the middle of the Great Depression, five or six years before World War Two, with money that is now undoubtedly worthless. As for Hooverville; I guess I have nowhere else to go, now. I stand up and walk away from the graveyard. _I'll be back for you, Rory _I think in determination, _and_ _I'll see your stupid face again in five years. _

_End Flashback _

"Mum kept the Angel's note with her, even after she and Dad were reunited. It gave her hope, she said" explained Anthony. He turned the page of the album. The next two pages have two black and white photographs on them. One was of Amy and another woman, Tallulah, standing outside the steps of a a large building, which was obviously in the middle of refurbishment. The other was of Amy sitting alone at a desk, with a brass plate announcing her position of Editor-In-Chief. In both photos, she was grinning widely.

Anthony pointed to the building and said "That used to be the Majestic Theater, but it went bankrupt in 1934 and closed down. She was one of the showgirls there" he explained, pointing at Tallulah. "She got laid off and ended up in Hooverville with her boyfriend Laszlo. Mum told me something the Doctor used to say; time is wibbley wobbley. I guess it seemed that way to her, when she found out that Tallulah and Laszlo had met an earlier Doctor just four years before then".

Tabetha reached inside her blouse pocket and pulled out her daughter's letter. "She says here that she and Tallulah – I suppose she's talking about Tallulah – began a publishing company together. And there's an 'R' and an 'I' above the door there; did they turn the theatre into the company building?" she asked. Anthony nodded.

"The thing about time travel" he began, "is that you can do something after years of wasting time, but for others it might only be a few days, and vice versa. Mum spent about, oh, a year and three months in Hooverville before she found out that she had an account at the local bank, with fifty million dollars inside it. They said it had been set up from Washington by the President himself. Something about a favour for a friend. With that much money Amy could do anything, including buying the building and setting up the company".

Augustus missed his daughter terribly, but he was also very proud of her. "Can you imagine, Tabby?" he asked, using the pet name he hadn't called her for years, not since they were young. "Amelia, _our _Amelia, an editor in chief, in the Big Apple itself. She always wanted to go to New York, and now she's lived in it" He smiled in a melancholy way.

Brian asked, "What about Rory? How did he and Amy find each other again?"

_Flashback (Rory's POV) _

"Hey, Amy, look at this. There's a gravestone here for someone with the same name as me" I say in surprise. I hear her chuckle and say "What?", and I look up at her. Just like that she's gone, and so is the TARDIS.

For a moment I'm dazed, and then I groan. It's happened _again. _"This wasn't supposed to happen!" I yell angrily at the sky. "We were…we were meant to be safe".

I sit down on the grass with my head in my hands. "It's my own fault. What possessed me to look at that gravestone anyway? Same name…how could I have been so stupid?" I asked myself. All I can think about is Amy. Amy's hair, Amy's smile, and Amy's voice. I can still hear her voice.

"_Rory!" _

_Hang on, I can hear her voice_. I scramble to my feet and look around. Someone is running towards me, their hair blowing in the wind. I'd know that colour anywhere. "Amy? AMY!"

We run straight into each other's arms and hold on tight. I never want to let go of Amy; but I do, when she says she can't breathe. Then she snogs me and I can't breathe. Breathing is overrated anyway, and I should know. I die a lot.

Amy's eyes are filled with tears. "You're here. You're finally here" she whispers.

"Have you been looking for me? Sorry, I err, only just arrived" I reply, and she hits my arm. "I know that, stupid face. The Angel, it sent me back to five years ago" she tells me, and I can hardly believe it. "You waited for me…oh, Amy". More kissing and not breathing.

When we come apart, I realise that I have no idea when we are, or what Amy has been doing for five years. "Come on, Mr Williams, let's go home. I'll tell you everything over a cuppa".

_End Flashback _

The next page of the album was covered in drawings that Anthony had made as a child, about the weird and wonderful adventures his parents had told him about. "That's meant to be Venice, where they fought alien vampires. And that's a Silurian, they're these reptiles that used to inhabit Earth before humans" he explained.

"That ship with all the dinosaurs on belonged to Silurians" piped up Brian. "I feel rather sorry for the poor things, that vile Solomon killed them all".

There was a proper painting on the other page; a recreation of a _Van Gogh. _"It's called 'The Pandorica Opens'. Mum said she and the Doctor met Van Gogh, but not Rory. She never said why" said Anthony.

The four of them continued to look through the book, until it started to grow dark. "We should be going, Augustus. Thank you so much, Anthony. This means a lot" smiled Tabetha. Grandmother and grandson shared an embrace.

Later that same autumn evening, when Brian and the Ponds had long since left, the TARDIS vworped into Anthony's living room. He emerged from the bathroom to find the Doctor and River looking around. He recognised them instantly.

"Hello, Doctor. You got my message, then" he said calmly. The Doctor nodded. "Yes, you must be Anthony Pond!" he said enthusiastically, shaking the American's hand.

"Williams" Anthony corrected him, but the Doctor wasn't listening. "Is this your flat? It's pretty small, I could make it bigger for you if you like. Oh, Anthony, this is River. River, this is Anthony. You know what you two are? Brother and sister!" he announced happily.

Anthony turned to the curly haired woman before him. "Hi, sis" he greeted her.

"Hi, bro – let's never say that again, shall we?" she suggested with a chuckle. They hugged one another. "So, why did you want us to come here?" asked River, and Anthony replied "I wanted to give you both something". He left the room, and returned with a plastic ring binder. "This is full of everything from Amy and Rory's album, Doctor, and I want you to have it. They would have wanted you to have it".

The Doctor reached out to take the binder, and then pulled away. "No, no I can't. Those are your memories, Anthony, I can't take that away from you" he protested. Anthony rolled his eyes.

"I never said it _was _the album. That's locked away in my room. There's this great new invention, you might have heard of it. It's called a photocopier" he said sarcastically. The next thing he knew, he was being kissed on the cheek by a widely grinning Time Lord.

Handing over the copied contents of the album, Anthony asked the Doctor to wait in the TARDIS whilst he talked to River. The Doctor saluted and went back inside the box, clutching the binder to his chest like a teddy bear.

River and Anthony looked at one another. "A note was found with me on the doorstep of Everett House, on 69th street. It just had my first name on it, nothing else" said Anthony. River nodded in understanding and agreement. "It's nice to meet you, Anthony. I wish I could stay and get to know you better. I might come around again, when I've finished this new mission at the Library" she suggested.

Just then, the Doctor stuck his head back out of the door. "Sorry, erm, Anthony? What are you, I mean, what do you do? What job?" he asked.

"I'm a palaeontologist" he replied. The Doctor grinned. "Palaeontology, brilliant. Remind me to take you to Siluria sometime; oh, and if you see Brian, tell him I'm sorry". He had become sad again, and ducked back inside.

After one more embrace, River went back inside the TARDIS, and it disappeared before Anthony's eyes. Inside the magical blue box, the Doctor had taken the recreated album to his drawing room, and River set off to complete Anthony's cleverly hinted at request. On the way, she reminisced about the first time she'd heard of her brother.

_Flashback (Melody's POV) _

I did that special trick, the one that Madame Kovarian told me about, that lets me live more than once. It hurt a lot, but now I'm all better, and a lot smaller. A bit too small, and my skin is a different colour. It's all brown, like mud.

I hear someone coming and crawl behind the bins. "Hello?" calls a man's voice. He doesn't sound American, but I can't tell where he's from. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help" he says. I think he's lying, but then I think, _I'm tiny now, and I don't have anywhere to go. He sounds like he's a civilian, so he must be safe. _

I come out and see that it is a civilian, a middle aged man. He takes me in a cab to a place called Everett House. It's obviously an orphanage and I make a fuss at first, because I've had enough of these places. "You won't be here long, Melody" says the man, and I'm so surprised that he knows my name that I stay quiet.

When he's about to leave me in the orphanage, I ask him "What's your name? And how do you know mine?"

He doesn't tell me how he knew my name, but he does tell me that his name is Rory, and that his wife is called Amy, and they have a son called Anthony Brian Williams.

_End flashback. _


End file.
